Imagining Resilient Courts : From COVID-19 to the Future of Canada’s Court System
Matyas, David ; Wills, Peter and Dewitt, Barry LU
(2022)
In Canadian Public Policy
48(1).
p.186-208
- Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has challenged an array of democratic institutions in complex and unprecedented ways. Little academic work, however, has considered the pandemic’s impact on Canada’s courts. This article aims to partially fill that gap by exploring the Canadian court system’s response to COVID-19 and the prospects for administering justice amid disasters, all through the lens of resilience. After taking a forensic look at how the court system has managed the challenges brought on by COVID-19, we argue that features of resilience such as self-organization, flexibility, learning, and reflexive planning can contribute to the administration of justice during future shocks. We propose that the business of... (More)
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has challenged an array of democratic institutions in complex and unprecedented ways. Little academic work, however, has considered the pandemic’s impact on Canada’s courts. This article aims to partially fill that gap by exploring the Canadian court system’s response to COVID-19 and the prospects for administering justice amid disasters, all through the lens of resilience. After taking a forensic look at how the court system has managed the challenges brought on by COVID-19, we argue that features of resilience such as self-organization, flexibility, learning, and reflexive planning can contribute to the administration of justice during future shocks. We propose that the business of judging during shocks can become more integral to the business as usual of court systems. Imagining such a resilient court can be a way to step from COVID-19 to the future of Canada’s court system.
(Less)
- author
- Matyas, David
; Wills, Peter
and Dewitt, Barry
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022-03
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- access to justice, court administration, COVID-19, disasters, resilience, rule of law
- in
- Canadian Public Policy
- volume
- 48
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 23 pages
- publisher
- University of Toronto Press
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:36039066
- scopus:85128494410
- ISSN
- 0317-0861
- DOI
- 10.3138/cpp.2021-015
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b5e90658-61da-466a-accd-8492ca816654
- date added to LUP
- 2022-12-30 14:26:08
- date last changed
- 2025-04-15 11:16:58
@article{b5e90658-61da-466a-accd-8492ca816654,
abstract = {{<p>The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has challenged an array of democratic institutions in complex and unprecedented ways. Little academic work, however, has considered the pandemic’s impact on Canada’s courts. This article aims to partially fill that gap by exploring the Canadian court system’s response to COVID-19 and the prospects for administering justice amid disasters, all through the lens of resilience. After taking a forensic look at how the court system has managed the challenges brought on by COVID-19, we argue that features of resilience such as self-organization, flexibility, learning, and reflexive planning can contribute to the administration of justice during future shocks. We propose that the business of judging during shocks can become more integral to the business as usual of court systems. Imagining such a resilient court can be a way to step from COVID-19 to the future of Canada’s court system.</p>}},
author = {{Matyas, David and Wills, Peter and Dewitt, Barry}},
issn = {{0317-0861}},
keywords = {{access to justice; court administration; COVID-19; disasters; resilience; rule of law}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{186--208}},
publisher = {{University of Toronto Press}},
series = {{Canadian Public Policy}},
title = {{Imagining Resilient Courts : From COVID-19 to the Future of Canada’s Court System}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2021-015}},
doi = {{10.3138/cpp.2021-015}},
volume = {{48}},
year = {{2022}},
}